Still, what we see here means that Monday's big debut will be a must-see event.

We've known some details of the Dart for a few weeks:

-- It rides on a widened version of the platform used for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Chrysler calls this platform CUSW, and it plans to use it for several cars and crossovers in the next several years.

-- The Dart will be available with a choice of three four-cylinder engines, some of them branded Tigershark. Two engines will use Fiat's MultiAir variable valve technology for better fuel economy.

MultiAir regulates the intake valves for each cylinder independently. The technology is designed to increase engine power and torque 10 percent while slashing fuel consumption and emissions by up to 10 percent.

Tigershark is an evolution of Chrysler's four-cylinder engine family produced at the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance factory in Dundee, Mich.